Support from Palestine

The Palestinian leadership, which includes the Palestinian Liberation Organisation of Yasser Arafat as well as Islamic and nationalist groups, said in a statement, "We call for the release of all civilians kidnapped in Iraq, in particular the two French journalists and the two Italian nationals." An Islamic Jihad official meanwhile called on the captors of the Italians to free them, telling AFP that "this kidnapping can not serve the Iraqi people," while also calling on Italy to withdraw its forces from Iraq.